An 87-year-old Maryland man accused of killing his roommate was turned in by a church pastor, according to a report.
Irwin Joseph Dickstein allegedly admitted to the shooting when speaking to a witness and revealed where it happened, Frederick Police Department said in a statement.
When authorities subsequently conducted a welfare check at Dickstein’s address in Frederick, a city located around 50 miles from Baltimore, they found the body of 63-year-old Michael Roy Bushnell.
The older man was taken into custody and has since been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.
Court documents obtained by Fox 5 DC said the shooting occurred on Sunday September 20 after Dickstein and Bushnell had an argument. Neighbors told the outlet Bushnell claimed Dickstein had switched off their home’s electricity while repairing an outlet, causing the former to become upset.
An associate pastor at the Frederick Christian Fellowship later told the sheriff’s office one of his congregants had confessed to the killing, charging documents obtained by The Frederick News-Post state.
Separately, the sheriff’s office spoke with a man who had driven Dickstein to the Frederick Christian Fellowship. The man said the 87 year-old had placed an item in his car trunk, with the police recovering a handgun from a case found inside vehicle.
Police said Dickstein was arrested without incident and taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center, before appearing in front of a District Court commissioner.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” police said in a press release.
Paula Brooks, an attorney at the Frederick County Public Defender’s Office, called for Dickstein to undergo a competency evaluation during a bail hearing, the News-Post reports. The judge declared that Dickstein will be held without bail until a competency hearing takes place.
Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office Spokesperson Jacqueline Rottman told the outlet that Dickstein will be granted a new bail review should he be found to be competent to stand trial.
“Regardless, we will ask he be held since he presents a danger to the community,” Rottman told the publication.
The Independent has contacted Rottman and the Frederick Christian Fellowship for comment.
